All players within the construction sector will need to ensure compliance with the Construction Sectoral Guidelines (Guidelines) that were recently published by the Chief Inspector of the Department of Employment & Labour (DEL). Although the Guidelines have not been published in the government gazette, the Guidelines have been published on the DEL website as a final version. We anticipate that the Guidelines will be published in the Government Gazette shortly.
The Guidelines aim to assist the construction sector in applying the Covid-19 Direction on Health & Safety in the Workplace. Clients, designers and principal contractors have specific roles to play in applying the Guidelines.
It is important for employers to note that the Construction Regulations 2014 (CR) under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 85 of 1993 (OHSA) remain applicable and must be complied with by employers.
The Guidelines provide that the client's team and principal contractor should work together to identify ways in which Covid-19 risks can be mitigated. The HIRA [under CR 5(1)(a)] needs to be updated for the project at a high level to identify levels of risk that would expose employees and other project staff to Covid-19. The aspects of the HIRA need to incorporate the risk categories as identified by the Hazardous Biological Agent Regulations 2001.
We highlight the key provisions of the Guidelines below.
Employers must conduct a workplace risk assessment and identify -
Contractors must ensure that they follow strict protocols at site access points including -
The contractor must ensure that the certain engineering controls are in place -
The contractor must also ensure that certain administrative controls are in place -
Employers must ensure that they make use of disinfectants and sanitisers and encourage personal hygiene in the workplace and on site. This includes the obligation to ensure that -
The type of PPE required will vary according to the work activity and medical risk factors. The principle contractor must ensure that workers who work in close contact with one another wear the appropriate PPE and workers must be trained on how to wear, remove and dispose of PPE. The principle contractor should also provide designated bins for the disposal of PPE.
The main types of PPE that should be considered are -
The contractor should train workers who rely on public transport or who use employer-provided transport on the relevant safety protocols that they should follow. This includes information on social distancing and wearing of masks.
Contractors should, as far as possible, ensure that safe transport arrangements are made which includes -